Cardinals' lefthander Jaime Garcia has a date with Dr. Andrews

Garcia is getting a third opinion on a troublesome left shoulder before deciding whether to have surgery.

Cardinals lefthander Jaime Garcia will see noted sports surgeon James Andrews Tuesday or Wednesday before making a decision whether he should have shoulder surgery, source said.

Garcia has previously seen Dr. David Altcheck and a third surgeon and will consider all the information from the three doctors before making a final determination regarding an operation.

Garcia started Game 2 of the Division Series vs. the Nationals but was removed after two innings after telling manager Mike Matheny and the trainers about his discomfort. Matheny had an inkling something was wrong, as he had relievers warming up during a difficult second inning, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted at the time.

Garcia has been shut down three times this year for shoulder issues and went 7-7 after two straight 13-win seasons. He signed a $27-million, four-year deal.

Initially, there was some concern about whether Garcia has been reticent to tell the team of his discomfort. He says the new issue first cropped up in his last start of the regular season.

Matheny told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "I respect these guys' preparation that they have going into a game, how they push through things and try to make something out of nothing at times. If you waited around until you felt perfect, you would never play the game.''

Garcia's Cardinals team was to play Game 2 of the NLC Monday night in San Francisco. Lance Lynn, who had been moved to the bullpen, started Game 1, won by the Cardinals, 6-4.